Alphas at the Office
by kaceyinspacey
Summary: Just a short oneshot about what happens at the office when the Alphas aren't out fighting crime. Please read and review!


AN: I've had this written since after the first episode, and now that there's a category for it I can finally post it! Also, I own nothing.

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><p>Dr. Lee Rosen needed a break. He had been slaving over leads that agent Cley had, quite literally, dumped in his lap. While working with Cley was an improvement over the strenuous relationship with the late agent Wilson, there was still a balance to be found and a respect to be developed. He stacked the imposing heap of files. They had all been through a lot in the last week. The pheromone-producing alpha, Matthew Hurley, had really done a number on the morale of his already precarious team.<p>

As per the usual, Dr. Rosen was lost in thought. He invested so much of himself into all of the people he met, and especially into alphas who needed help. He was jarred back into reality by Bill Harken's voice rising above his own thoughts, clearly arguing with someone (probably Gary). It didn't surprise him that Bill's voice would be the one to snap him out of his reverie, being that he could make himself heard better than anyone Lee had met. And then there was Gary. While Gary was not as formidable as Bill, it did not keep him from driving Bill up the wall whenever possible. While the rest of the team knew when to stop pushing buttons, Gary persisted.

This time, they were arguing lunch. It seemed someone had hidden Gary's sack lunch. Dr. Rosen entered the break room. His interpretation of the audible clues had been correct. Bill was reading a newspaper and Gary was hovering, conducting a sort of interrogation. "What seems to be the problem?" Lee ventured, eying the two of them.

"Dr. Rosen. Bill ate my lunch. I tell him not to. Every day. But he did." Gary was agitated, and it was clear that Bill had been exasperating him further. Bill shook his head. He had learned not to raise his voice to the team, and especially Gary, around Dr. Rosen, if only to avoid extended therapy sessions with the good doctor. While Bill was being silent, Gary was growing more and more agitated.

Putting on his best therapist/kindergarten teacher voice, he addressed Bill. "Is that true, Bill? Did you eat Gary's lunch?"

"No, Dr. Rosen. I did not. Maybe he forgot to bring it today."

"Don't lie, _Bill_. I don't forget things. Maybe you forgot that you ate it," Gary retorted, childishly.

"Is that a fat joke, buddy?" Bill asked. While he was being entirely facetious, some of those conversational subtleties were lost on Gary. Feeling especially empowered today, Bill decided to make a show of it. Things had been quiet around the office ever since that pheromone situation. He dramatically stood up, causing the chair to topple over and slide across the floor, and towered over Gary, looking as menacing as he could. Gary shrunk and backed away reflexively, wincing, looking somewhat like a kicked puppy, or more specifically like a frequently kicked puppy seconds before being kicked again. Dr. Rosen knew that look. From talking with both Gary and Gary's mother, he learned that Gary had been bullied terribly during the years he suffered through public school, and was sent home from school early with various mysterious injuries countless times. Gary had made an easy target for bullies.

"Bill, stop it. What do you think you're doing?" he asked, alarmed. Bill had backed off immediately when he saw Gary's reaction to his theatrics, and felt guilty.

"I was just teasing him, Dr. Rosen." He turned to Gary, still cowering. "Gary I was just kidding, buddy! And I didn't eat your lunch. It's in the bottom drawer wrapped in newspaper." He took a step towards Gary, extending his hand in a peace offering. Gary hesitated, but then shook it. "See, we're good Dr. Rosen. Just kidding around." Bill still had a guilty look in his eyes, but was trying to play it off casually. Gary nodded.

"We're good. But don't do that, _Bill_. I feel really mad when you take my lunch or are a bully. Dr. Rosen. I just used an "I" statement. And I expressed myself," Gary rambled proudly. Dr. Rosen smiled, still unsure of the situation, fighting the urge to 'use his shrink voice' and talk further about what happened.

Nina and Rachel had wandered in, curious about the commotion, and Hicks had followed them in. They only caught the awkward handshake and Gary's self-assertion. "What happened? We heard a crash," Rachel asked. She was very close to Gary, and could see that he was somewhat shaken about something. She walked over to Gary and looked at him, scrutinizing him like a mother. "Are you okay? You look nervous. Did Bill take your lunch again?" She glared at Bill.

"No. I'm okay. Yes. He took my lunch. I called him fat and he punched me," Gary said, trying not to grin. Rachel turned on her heel, stomped over to Bill and slapped him across the chest, never breaking her glare.

"Gary. That's not what happened. I thought we were good, buddy!" Bill argued. "I was teasing him, and things got out of hand. I knocked a chair over, _on accident_, and that was it," continued. Rachel appraised this answer, looked to Gary, who simply shrugged, and then to Dr. Rosen.

"Bill is telling the truth. Gary is exaggerating. Everything is fine, Rachel." He saw her 'mother hen' persona fade. She had been fiercely protective of the team and especially Gary since the beginning. That was her role.

Hicks had walked to the soda machine and put in his money. To be fair, he hadn't needed to walk to the machine to insert the coins, but he figured if he had to retrieve the soda anyways, it wasn't worth showing off. "I'm feeling like burgers. There's a diner around the corner," he said. He didn't like conflict very much, and the break room had gotten very tense in the last fifteen minutes or so. He tried to relieve the tension as best he could. They all verbalized their agreement, except Gary. Gary's mother didn't like him eating fast food. He was very obedient, most of the time.

"I'll just eat my lunch, since Bill didn't eat it. Can I take it to the restaurant?" he asked Dr. Rosen, who nodded. They locked up the offices and went down to the street.

At the diner, they found a suitable table and sat down. Gary laid out his own lunch in an orderly fashion as the waitress came up. She eyed Gary's meticulous lunch. Gary answered her question before she even could. "My mother doesn't like me to eat fast food, so she packs my lunch. Bill almost ate my lunch, but he didn't and I expressed myself. And you have a Nokia phone. It's not compatible. You should get another one. I don't like Nokia phones." He probably would have continued his one sided conversation with the waitress if Rachel hadn't put a hand on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and started scanning the room for electromagnetic frequencies.

"He doesn't get out much," Bill explained to the waitress. Rachel kicked him under the table. "Sorry. Can I get a double cheeseburger?" The waitress recorded all of their orders, but before she turned to walk away, Gary stopped her. He then whispered something to Dr. Rosen, who smiled and held up a finger signaling the waitress to hold on a minute.

Gary was pleading, and Dr. Rosen finally conceded. "Can we get one more order of curly fries and a vanilla milkshake, too? Put it on my order. Thank you." He smiled at the waitress. "Gary, your mother is not going to be pleased when she finds out I let you have fast food."

" She won't find out. I'm good at secrets," Gary argued. Dr. Rosen just nodded and smiled. Gary was not good at keeping secrets. He was probably the worst secret keeper he'd ever met. Gary just didn't have it in him to hide anything.

Shortly, the food arrived and the team enjoyed a much-needed break from the office and the drama of the past week. After they finished, they paid their respective tickets, Dr. Rosen leaving a significant tip. As they wandered past a Starbucks, Rachel and Nina decided stopped to grab coffee. Rachel and Nina got in line, and Gary wandered as stealthily as he could towards Rachel. "Rachel. I need a coffee. Will you buy me one?" Dr. Rosen overheard this question and caught Rachel's gaze and shook his head vigorously. She nodded, smiling.

"Gary, you shouldn't have coffee. Besides, you just had a milkshake! That was a nice treat!" she said, trying to be gentle. Gary turned immediately to Nina.

"Nina. I need you to push Rachel and make her buy me coffee." He said it as if it was the simplest request. She just shook her head, smiling. Knowing he was getting nowhere, he sighed dramatically. "Fine," he said, with a theatrical wave of his hand.


End file.
